Fast-food chain Panda Express, which serves an
American-Chinese cuisine, plans to make an India entry in partnership with JSM.
Mumbai based-JSM had earlier brought international chains like Hard Rock Cafe
and California Pizza Kitchen into the domestic market, and is learnt to have
inked a master franchise agreement with Panda Restaurant Group, which runs
Panda Express.
According to sources, JSM is
likely to roll out the first few outlets of Panda Express over the next six
months starting with major metros. It plans to open around 50 outlets for the
brand over the next five years. When contacted by TOI, JSM co-founder Jay Singh
confirmed the development without giving further details .
Started in 1983 in
California, the family-owned Panda Express has built one of the largest Chinese
restaurant businesses in the US with sales of over $2 billion as of 2014. Its
closest competitors in the Asian-themed restaurants space include PF Chang's,
Noodles & Co and Pei Wei, among others.
JSM, founded in 2004 by Singh
and Sanjay Mahtani, runs eight brand properties with close to 30 outlets — Hard
Rock Cafe, California Pizza Kitchen, Pinkberry, Shiro, Plus91, The Big Kanuha,
Asilo and Ginger Tiger.
Backed by Wipro founder Azim
Premji's investment fund PremjiInvest, JSM plans to start Panda Express through
largely self-serviced outlets in India in order to keep operational costs low.
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